


To Always Face the Sun

by cuddleslutloki



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Thor (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Time Travel, Bottom Loki (Marvel), Light Angst, M/M, Time Travel Fix-It, Top Thor (Marvel)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-20
Updated: 2018-06-20
Packaged: 2019-05-25 19:30:40
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,663
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14984030
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cuddleslutloki/pseuds/cuddleslutloki
Summary: Thor had learned, slowly according to Loki, that sometimes the only thing to do was to steal back by force that which had been taken from you.





	To Always Face the Sun

Tony looked him over as they stood on the cliff’s edge together. “You're leaving?”

Thor nodded. “It's done, we’ve won.”

They shared a look and Tony nodded his understanding. “Except that I can't bring back what you lost.”

Of course Tony understood. They stared at each other a moment, and Thor allowed himself a smile. “You're a fine and valiant warrior, and a good friend. I will make sure to meet you when the time comes.”

Tony grinned wide. “Knock em dead, Point Break.”

He nodded and watched Tony leave.

It was too easy for Thor to call the right memory. The great hall was filled with nobles and foreign royals all dressed in elegant attire, feasting on the best Asgard could offer. Wine and mead flowed freely, as did laughter and joy. All were eager to hear the announcement from the Allfather. The coronation of the heir apparent was an open secret as far as royal events went.

Thor held Stormbreaker in his hand and opened himself to the dark magics left to him by his ancestors and Heimdall. He held the vision of that memory in his mind and opened the bifrost, forcing it to bend by drawing power from deep within himself.

If he could stop the madness that started this path, if he could stop Thanos from ever taking Loki, then perhaps when Thanos did come they would have a better chance. They could protect the forge and stop that cursed gauntlet from ever being made.

He heard Heimdall's voice as he opened the channels of time through Yggdrasil's roots, but couldn't understand what was said.

He landed on the floor of the main hall. Startled gasps filled the air, and he was immediately surrounded by spears. Directly ahead of him sat his parents, at their side he saw himself and he saw Loki. A Loki from before, a Loki he knew loved him, a Loki he didn't appreciate well enough. Many mistakes could be fixed now, Thor just had to keep the guards from killing him.

Odin stood, searching through him with sight and magic at once. “Who are you?”

Thor kept himself perfectly still. “I'm your son.”

Whispers broke out around the room, and Odin raised his hand to silence them. “Prove what you say.”

Thor nodded and reached up toward his younger self, easily calling Mjolnir to his hand as an old friend. He raised the hammer above his head and summoned a strike of lightning to it that scorched the ceiling, then yielded when his younger self called it back.

Odin regarded him warily, but nodded. He waved the guards away and allowed Thor to approach the throne. “When are you from?”

Thor swallowed roughly and couldn't keep his eyes from straying toward Loki, who was observing him with unguarded wonder.

He forced himself to look at his father. “I'm from a time when I am king, and Ragnarok has taken Asgard.”

The whispers turned into murmurs and shouts, Odin easily silenced them all again. “Why have you come? Ragnarok must come to pass eventually.”

Thor nodded. “True, and that is not why. I would not discuss that so openly. The matters I wish to discuss should only be spoken in front of our family as they concern the _entire_ royal family.”

Odin clearly understood at once who Thor meant and gave the order to clear the hall. Even the guards were dismissed. They stared at each other for minutes, two kings of the same people, the same throne calling to their blood. Thor didn’t get a chance to properly claim the throne before Hela had come after him, he’d been too distracted to feel the pull of his ancestors guiding him. His power here was deeper and stronger than he could ever remember.

Thor kept looking at Loki and found his strength wavering dangerously. A few minutes to speak, that was all he needed, all he had to last for. Then he could break.

Thor took a breath. “I'm going to speak freely, and you may not like all that I have to say.”

Odin actually smiled at him. “You're a king of Asgard. We're equals, son. Say what you need.”

Thor nodded and suddenly felt lost and unsure of where to begin. He tried his best to shut down the fluttering of his nerves and kept his head held high. “You need to find a new way to contain Hela, for a start. She cannot be a mess for us to clean up after you die.”

“Who's Hela?” Loki asked, his voice smooth like warm honey and breaking Thor apart.

“Our sister.” Thor answered, his eyes never moving from Odin.

“Was she the cause of Ragnarok?” Odin moved to sit on the throne, probably anticipating that the conversation would quickly grow tiresome.

Thor shook his head. “No. Not truly. Surtur brought about the end of Asgard, though I ordered it so that Hela could be defeated.”

Odin studied him for a moment. “But this is not why you're here.”

Thor’s hand trembled where he gripped Stormbreaker. He was losing his composure too quickly. “No, it's not. There's a greater threat we should face. I'm king of Asgard in title, but in truth I'm king over the dead. I don't…”

Thor's voice trailed off as his throat constricted, and his breath caught when Loki came to stand in front of him. His vision narrowed to curious green eyes that took him in with open fascination.

“Am I dead in your time?” Loki asked, eyes wide and imploring in a way Thor couldn't resist if he wanted to.

He was slipping. Tired from the journey, from his fight, from his failure.

Tears burned Thor's eyes. “Yes. I'm sorry.”

Loki frowned. “For what?”

“This.” Thor dropped his axe and wrapped his arms tight around Loki, burying his face into his brother's neck.

Loki froze against him, then relaxed and brought his hands up to stroke at Thor's short hair.

Thor finally lost the strength he'd gathered and began to weep without shame. He was allowed this pain, this grief, this moment. Fate alone let him cross a barrier the bifrost shouldn't have carried him beyond. This was his right.

Loki shook in his embrace. “Thor? How did I die for you weep this way?”

Thor's knees gave out and he brought them both to the floor as he fell. Of all the mistakes he'd fix, the first would be the foolishness that allowed his past self to let Loki fall so deeply toward self-destruction.

He calmed slowly, then pulled his head back to regard his brother. Those bright green eyes weren't guarded the way he was so used to, they showed their concern and love openly.

Thor gently gripped the back of Loki's neck and gathered his voice. “You saved my life, and tried to defeat a great evil.”

“I failed.” Loki replied, his voice accepting and very matter-of-fact.

Thor sighed and his shoulders sagged. “So did I.”

Odin cleared his throat and brought their attention to him. “What is the name of this evil?”

“Thanos.” Thor answered.

Odin nodded, and Thor knew he recognized the name. “How far back have you traveled with this news, son?”

Thor actually managed a laugh at the absurdity. “Ten years.”

Frigga took a sharp breath, her brows furrowed. “That's all?”

Thor nodded, he looked back at Loki and felt stable again. He stood and drew Loki up with him.

“There's another mistake of yours I'd like to fix, father. More pressing than even my sister. I believe there's something you should tell Loki.” He tried to keep contempt from his voice and failed. Truly he was glad to have this, to be given this, but his father’s lies were weighing on him now.

Loki looked between them. “What? Father?”

Odin closed his eye and sighed deeply. “Thor, this should wait.”

Thor scoffed. “No. It shouldn’t. Loki, you’re a Jotunn.”

Odin’s eye snapped open and he stood, and Thor held his ground. Kings of Asgard faced each other, their resolve matched and their anger equal. Thor did not waver.

“He found you during the war, abandoned. He brought you home as his son, and then lied to you.” Thor watched his younger self finally move, taking careful steps away from the throne to stand beside Loki.

“Is this true? Is any of this true?” His voice was not yet tired the same way Thor was used to, and he could almost summon the memory of that man in his own skin.

Frigga stood and put her hand on Odin’s arm. “It is.”

Loki shook where he stood between the mirrored forms of his brother. “You both lied to me! Why? Why did you kidnap me? What am I to you?”

Odin stepped down from the dais and stood in front of them. “I found you suffering, abandoned as Thor said. You were very small, and you would have died if I hadn’t found you.”

Loki stilled and took a small step closer to Thor. “That doesn’t answer my question. You do nothing unless it serves you. What am I? A trophy?”

Odin frowned. “You’re my son—”

“Then why lie to me? Is it because I’m the monster we tell tales of slaughtering?” Loki was screaming, his face wet with tears.

Thor and his younger self spoke at once, “you’re not a monster.”

They looked at each other, then both to Loki. He drew yet closer to the future Thor, their arms nearly touching. “Just tell me the truth, for once. Why did you bring me here?”

Odin deflated a bit, and nodded. “I’d planned to unite our realms through you. You’re not just Jotunn, you’re Laufey’s son.”

Loki froze next to Thor, then laughed without humor. “I’m a fucking bargaining chip.”

Odin opened his mouth and raised a hand, he almost looked pleading, and Frigga moved down from the throne.

Loki grabbed Thor’s arm and turned to him. “Take me away from here. I need to get away. Please.”

Thor nodded and looked at his parents, then himself, and opened the bifrost with Stormbreaker. He didn’t go far, just outside the hidden temple in the mountains where his people hid from Hela. They wouldn’t be seen and wouldn’t be easily found. If Odin sent Heimdall they could at least have a moment to think of another place to go.

Loki pulled away from him and paced across the stone. “We’re still in Asgard.”

Thor nodded and placed Stormbreaker into the strap on his back. “You didn’t say where to take you, so for now, yes, we’re still in Asgard.”

Thunder roared above their heads and Thor smirked at his younger self’s anger.

Loki looked up and raised an eyebrow. “Over me? That’s surprising.”

Thor shook his head, tired again. “That is a mistake I should like to fix.”

“Oh? What’s that?” Loki asked.

“That you think I feel anything aside from love for you. That you don’t know how much you mean to me. You are my world, and you’re his, but I always thought you just knew simply because you know me. I was a fool, and I didn’t do enough.” Thor stopped when he felt his throat grow tight.

Loki put a hand on his shoulder and stepped in close enough that Thor could feel his breath. “How did I die?”

Thor shook his head. “Loki, please.”

“I’ve known you over a thousand years and I have never once seen you weep like you did when you held me. Not even as children. I’m inclined to trust you, truly. You’ve caused more chaos in ten minutes than I have in my entire life, and you’re exposing secrets I couldn’t have dreamt of. I would know what you know, and I would help you if you’ll let me.” Loki spoke to him softly, his voice just as wondrous and captivating as it always had been.

Thor closed his eyes and nodded, then lifted Loki’s hand to his forehead. “I’ll show you, there are things that I cannot yet speak.”

Thor felt the first touch of seiðr against his mind and relaxed into it. Loki found the original memory that brought Thor to this time, then began to move to everything after. Thor ached as he was forced to re-watch his mistakes and the path that led to Thanos capturing Loki. He’d considered going back to Earth, finding Loki once he had the Tesseract, but that would have been too late. Better to stop Thanos from ever laying a finger on Loki’s body or mind.

Loki’s emotions were transferred through their link, and Thor could feel his disgust at every sight of himself through Thor’s eyes. They continued through their mother’s death, through Loki’s first, through memories Thor had that didn’t involve Loki at all.

Then they were where they needed to be, and Thor knew Loki could feel the panic that he couldn’t control; the anguish and dread. Loki shut off the connection as soon as he heard his own trachea snapping through Thor’s ears.

Both of their faces were wet with tears and Loki backed away from him quickly. Thor followed, his own pain forgotten at the look of horror on Loki’s face.

“Loki—”

“What am I? What have I done?” Loki ran his hands through his hair and almost tripped over an uneven stone.

Thor grabbed him by his arms and didn’t let him pull away. “Look at me.”

Loki did as asked, more tears filling his eyes.

“Those things haven’t happened, not yet.” Thor’s voice shook as he spoke. “I’m here now, before all of it, none of that will happen.”

Loki sagged into his grip. “But it did. You’re not so stupid to think that this changes anything. You being here… Thor, it’s just creating a new timeline, not fixing that one.”

Thor sighed and nodded, his hands easing up where they held Loki. “I know.”

Loki leaned into him, his head cool against Thor’s neck as he rested on Thor's shoulder. “So why come?”

Thor wrapped his arms around his brother and buried his nose in Loki’s hair. “I couldn’t stay there. I failed, Thanos won, and I… I can’t live in a world where you’re dead. Not anymore and not again.”

Loki pulled away slowly and looked into his eyes, one natural and one artificial. He’d noted the difference, Thor was sure, especially after the memory of Hela plunging a knife into his skull. Neither of them spoke, but Thor could see something in Loki changing, something was different. Perhaps it was his reckless optimism that Loki had always chided him for, or maybe in this timeline he could actually succeed.

“I wonder what I really look like.” Loki said. He lifted his hands and closed his eyes.

After a few moments his skin began to fade from the soft, pale color Thor knew to a rich blue. Loki opened his eyes and gasped, turning his hands over. His eyes were a deep red when they snapped up to meet Thor’s.

He conjured a mirror and saw himself, the markings that graced his slender features, his eyes and the color of his skin.

“Do you still maintain that I am not a monster, brother?” Loki’s face had fallen, something miserable taking residence in his features.

Thor nodded. “I do, this changes nothing about my love for you. You’ll remember that I’m the one who revealed this. I’ve already seen this, and I love you for everything that has made you what you are.”

Loki met his eyes and let himself change back to his Aesir skin. “You’d call your younger self a fool, but I barely see a difference save for the hair.”

Thor laughed and felt the first spark of joy he’d known since Thanos eradicated his people.

“Perhaps you’re correct.” Thor conceded, a smile on his lips.

Loki smiled back at him. “I’m always correct.”

They both looked up as the mountain shook and a gust of wind whipped past them. Thunder roared unending, and they could see and hear explosions as lightning struck the mountain indiscriminately.

Loki grabbed his arm gently. “Let’s go to my apartments. He’s probably waiting there.”

Thor nodded and let Loki’s magic move them this time. The world fluttered around them, and then they were in Loki’s room. His heart ached deeply to be in this place. Gold and green curtains adorned Loki’s windows and covered his bed. As suspected, Thor found a younger version of himself pacing across Loki’s floor.

Their eyes met, then Loki stepped forward between them. “Thor—”

“Why would you hide from me?” He looked at Thor, disdain on his face. Thor could relate to that feeling, after all that had happened. “How do you know this isn’t a trick?”

Loki scoffed. “How many people in the known universe can call your hammer?”

“I’ll prove it to you.” Thor said, pulling Stormbreaker out of the harness on his back to hold her up to his younger self.

Loki rolled his eyes, then grabbed them both and dragged them out to his balcony. “Out here. My furnishings aren’t lightning-proof.”

Thor let himself smile at that and found himself taking more comfort than he thought possible from having Loki at his side again.

They watched each other a moment, then Thor handed the axe to himself. Immediately power flowed in through the handle and lightning struck them both. Thor didn’t know what kind of connection or power was being shared, but when he saw tears he knew something was being transferred.

Loki leaned against the doorframe, watching them with interest that shifted as he looked at them. Thor wondered if Loki saw any memories he hadn’t meant to show. Probably.

He took the axe back after a moment and raised an eyebrow in question. “Well, am I a trick, Odinson?”

Thor shook his head and wiped tears out of his eyes. “What happened? All I can feel from that weapon is rage and grief.”

Loki cleared his throat. “We should eat dinner, we can discuss the future he’s trying to stop once I’m not starving. I hadn’t even had a chance to eat before the feast ended.”

They nodded to him, deferring to his wants easily. They ate in private and took no visitors and answered no summons.

 

Thor found Heimdall that night, having left himself and his brother back in the apartments with the remains of their dinner. He didn’t see Odin, though he didn’t expect to. From the timing an Odinsleep would befall him soon, or maybe he would simply busy himself with making Hela’s new prison and avoid them all until it was complete.

“I heard your voice when I was on my way in, but I didn’t understand what you were saying.” Thor crossed his arms and looked out at the stars. He’d only just watched the destruction of this, of everything, and standing as he was made those memories feel false.

Heimdall turned to him, his golden eyes bright. “I was trying to tell you that if you come back here, you cannot leave. The channel you carved is one-way, Thor. You’re stuck here.”

Thor nodded, and remembered Loki’s words from the mountain, and Tony’s before those. “I knew that.”

“Do you think they don’t need you when you’re from?” Heimdall looked back to the stars, and Thor wondered if his vision could breach that boundary.

Thor shrugged. “I watched you die, my friend. I watched Loki die. I failed my friends on the battlefield, so what does it matter now? They’re strong, and they undid everything that was done already.”

“But Thanos did not take from you as he did from them. You could not have returned to you all that you lost.” Heimdall spoke Thor’s thoughts as though he could hear them. “So you decided to take it back yourself.”

Thor nodded and stayed silent. He was stronger here than he’d ever been, and he wouldn’t fail Asgard again. Never again.

Heimdall chuckled. “You finally learned something from your brother, after all, didn’t you?”

Thor let himself laugh and rubbed his eyes with his fingers. “Gods, you’re right.”

“Loki is calling for you. You just left to retire to your own rooms for the night.” Heimdall didn’t hide the amusement in his voice.

Thor didn’t rise to the bait, instead he reached out and squeezed his friend’s shoulder and took the long way back to the palace.

 

Weeks passed and Loki still didn’t speak to Odin, though he did manage to reconcile with their mother to a point. His pain was apparent, but he was easing back to himself day by day. Thor was glad, because when she died he knew Loki hated himself over how they’d left things.

Odin sought his advice and experience in planning the prison, though Thor couldn’t be of as much help as he’d wanted. He’d been lost on Sakaar for so much of her reign of terror that all he knew was that he wasn’t strong enough to kill her.

Neither spoke of Loki and Thor was glad of it. He’d never realized how angry he had grown over the lie that caused so much grief in his own time. It was hard to be angry with the dead, but Odin was not yet dead in this time and Thor’s anger outweighed his gratitude for it.

“Say what you want to say, son. Don’t just stare into the back of my head.” Odin turned to him and offered him a glass of wine.

Thor took it and downed it quickly. “I’m angry with you.”

“Yes, I gathered that. You’re back to undo my mistakes, it makes sense you’d be angry over that. After all, the sins of the father shouldn’t fall onto the head of his son.” Odin sat perched on his desk, nursing his own drink slowly. “I imagine you’re also angry about things I have not yet done, and never will do in this timeline. But I did them all the same, and I’m the only one you can blame for them now.”

Thor’s glass broke in his hand, and he sighed as he dropped the shards. A servant quickly came to him and cleaned the glass at his feet and from his hand, and Thor felt sick with himself.

Odin watched him, and outside Thor heard the calls of ravens. “Thor, I know you’re angry with me, and I know you’re hurt, but I need you to rule Asgard when I fall into my next Odinsleep.”

Thor scoffed and began shaking his head. “This has to be a joke.”

“Nothing of the sort. You’re already a king of Asgard, that much is written into your blood. You’ve seen the events that may come to meet us, you’ve seen things no one else knows about. You have watched Asgard die and preserved its people as best you could. I think you appreciate this place and your people well enough to rule for a few short months while I rest.” Odin finished his wine and set the empty glass down.

Thor sighed and conceded. “Alright. Just give me some warning, I don’t want to wake up to people calling me king.”

Odin chuckled. “That will happen no matter what.”

Thor let his anger go for a moment and let himself appreciate his father’s presence. “I imagine you’re right.”

Odin smiled at him, then looked away. “I would like to say thank you, as well.”

“For what?” Thor asked.

“For coming to us. I know it can’t have been easy to leave where you were, especially with everything that must have happened. I’m glad that if you ran somewhere, you ran home.” Odin reached out and laid a hand on his shoulder.

Thor held back the tears that threatened to spill, sick of so much crying when he had better things to do. “There’s nowhere else that I could ever run, father.”

Odin smiled, and Thor finally noticed how tired he looked.

 

Frigga found him often, whether when he wandered the libraries or tried to find silence and solace in the gardens. Thor felt at peace with her by his side. She was every happy memory he seeked to preserve.

“I never wanted to lie to Loki.” She said, the sun bathing her in golden light.

Thor nodded. “But you did, mother. You have to understand why he's hurt.”

She smiled at him and reached out to cup his face. “Of course I do.”

Thor closed his eyes and forced his mind away from visions of her death. As much as he loved Loki he loved his mother, and the joy he felt at having her back was enough to break him again. They both had been missing from him in a way he scarcely knew how to name.

“I'm so proud of you, Thor. You're everything I knew you could be.” Frigga stroked his cheek, old callouses she never lost catching against his beard.

Tears burned at Thor's eyes. “Mother.”

He reached for her and let himself fall apart in her arms. For the second time since arriving, Thor wept. Frigga kept him together as he let everything out. She didn't say anything when it began to rain on them, she simply cast a quick spell to keep them dry and held him so close he never wanted to pull away.

 

The days slipped by so easily. Thor was settled into his rooms and relearned his old life. He accompanied his father to council meetings, counting down until the Odinsleep would hit and he would be the one at the head of the table. When he was younger he never had the patience for this aspect of his station, but now he would gladly take it. He knew everything that he could lose and it didn’t seem such a burden to work at this and learn how to keep the kingdom running. Even knowing how Asgard became the uniter of the nine realms, Thor was compelled to serve them all well.

Somehow when he was younger he’d missed Loki’s brilliance in this arena. Complaints were met with an even tone and a sly word. Any conflicts were easily pacified by a swift suggestion, and Loki had such a wonderful way of making his ideas seem like someone else’s.

No wonder Thor had always been helpless against him.

Lately, though, Loki had been in rare form. He was at once different and the same as remembered. He called Thor to his chambers constantly, sharing meals and stories. Thor knew Loki had peered into a memory he wasn’t meant to be shown, not at the time, not in that situation, and could only wonder at which he saw. It was a dangerous situation to be in, certainly. Who knew what Loki found and what he planned to do with it. Except that Thor could see Loki staring at his mouth, smiling to himself as he watched Thor’s hands work to cut fruit during their casual evening meal.

That was the memory, then.

Thor didn’t make any moves, just let Loki set the pace. It was a maddening pace, indeed.

Loki looked at him sidelong and wrapped his lips around a piece of cake. Frosting smeared his skin and he took extra care in licking it off.

He chuckled and turned to face Thor with an easy smile. “I can’t believe the way you cried as they cut your hair.”

Thor rolled his eyes. “I’m not accustomed to feeling helpless. They also took your lock of hair, and I was very upset about losing that.”

“But I was alive, you knew I was.” Loki gathered whipped cream on one finger, then sucked it off.

“You’re rather indulgent tonight.” Thor pitched his voice lower, heat stirring in his gut.

Loki grinned. “Maybe I’ll indulge you.”

He reached forward before Thor could question, and sent a spark of seiðr to Thor’s false eye. Loki summoned a small hand mirror from a nearby table and held it up for Thor to see himself. The color of eye had changed, a perfect match to his old blue.

Thor smiled, his pain more and more bearable the longer he was here. “Thank you, Loki. What do I owe for such a handsome favor?”

Loki set the mirror down and scooted closer to him on the already small couch. A wicked glint filled his eyes, and Thor found he rather liked it. “Show me your lightning.”

He lifted one hand and left the sparks roll over his skin. The light reflected off of Loki’s eyes and made them shine, his skin almost silver with it. Thor had no doubt which memory Loki had seen.

“You saw this in a memory?” Thor asked, his voice just a murmur under the crackle of electricity.

Loki nodded. “I’ll admit, I don’t think you meant for me to see it.”

Thor chuckled. “I was beginning to suspect you saw something else.”

“Well, you weren’t in complete control of yourself, it was easy to look.” Loki kept a smile on his pretty lips, his eyes focused on the magic dancing across Thor’s knuckles.

“And you used my lack of control and focus to your full advantage.” Thor replied, not surprised in the slightest.

Loki raised an eyebrow. “I said I was inclined to trust you, not that I did. I had to make sure there was no trick to you.”

Thor hummed. “You saw me summon Mjolnir.”

“That’s true, but even so. You came in with an axe that carries with it the bifrost. Who knew what you could be capable of.” Loki licked his lips and his eyes finally met Thor’s.

Thor let the lightning fade and set his hand back in his lap and didn’t cover the fact that his cock was half-hard in his breeches. Loki glanced down and then his eyes snapped back up, his pupils going wide.

“Well, Loki, what do you think me capable of now?” Thor grabbed a piece of ripe, red stone fruit and dipped it in a honey sauce.

He let the juices and the sticky sweet honey linger on his lips and fingers. Loki moaned low in his throat and finally made a move. Thor took a deep breath and smiled as Loki straddled his thighs. Slender fingers grabbed his, and the juice from the fruit he’d eaten was sucked off of his index finger.

“I think you’re infinitely more dangerous than the brother I’m used to.” Loki sucked on his thumb next, cleaning it with that deft silver tongue.

“How’s that?” Thor asked, his other hand resting on the curve of Loki’s hip.

Loki bit his middle finger when he sucked on it, his eyes flashing bright for a moment. “Your temper has been mellowed, but you have the same rage, the same power. Greater power even, if your memory serves me. What you have that he lacks is patience.”

Thor hummed and let his hand slide around to Loki’s ass to rub at the soft curve there. “This excites you, does it?”

Loki released his hand and pressed a kiss to his forehead. “Truthfully, I want to see how much patience you have.”

Just like that, Thor was elsewhere. The weight in his lap was gone, and he only needed one glance to know where he was. He groaned and laughed at the same time. It was a great trick, really, and it would ensure that when he finally took Loki it would be without mercy or restraint.

He stood and adjusted against the discomfort in his breeches. Then he realized he was being watched.

“So,” the prince began, his long hair wet from a bath, “how did you end up here?”

Thor shook his head and bit down the hysterics building inside him. Of course Loki would not only send him to his own rooms, but for himself to see.

“Loki sent me here. Do you mind if I use the washing basin?” Thor was already moving toward it, his erection wilting away naturally.

The prince cocked a brow. “Loki?”

“You don’t have to lie to me. We’ve had the same dreams, the same fantasies. I tugged at my cock with his name on my lips, same as you.” Thor found he had little patience for his past self in the best of circumstances. If Loki wanted to test him, this was perfect.

“No, I wasn’t… I wouldn’t think I could lie to you. To myself.” The prince sat on the edge of his bed, not bothering to hide his nudity from bathing. “So have you fucked him?”

“Not since I’ve been here.” Thor answered, wiping sugar out of his beard. “Thought I was about to, but then he decided to play one of his tricks. Now I just want to fuck him more. He knows me well, even as I am.”

The prince hummed. “I never thought he reciprocated.”

“Well, he does always say we’re a fool, doesn’t he?” Thor finished wiping his beard and sat next to himself on the bed.

“How did the first time happen?” The prince asked.

“It was after Ragnarok. I’d ordered Loki to awaken Surtur and let him destroy the planet. Taboos don’t seem so important once your people are on the brink of extinction. He came to me, and we were both so broken we couldn’t fight it anymore. I had him over and over again. He was so soft beneath me, so willing. We’re made to fit in his body.” Thor swallowed against the memories of his Loki beneath him, on top of him, crying out and laughing in his pleasure.

“Did you hope to have him by coming back here?” The prince asked.

Thor nodded. “Oh, of course I did. I came back to undo father’s mistakes, but,” Thor paused and shook his head, “mostly I just came back to save Loki. He’s so different from who I remember, who I let him become. I only just had him back before he died.”

A silence fell between them for a moment, then, “how did he die?”

Thor’s least favorite question to answer, and the most frequently asked by people to whom he felt obligated to be honest. “He was strangled to death right in front of me, and I could do nothing. His last words to me were, ‘the sun will shine on us again,’ and then I watched Thanos drain the life from him. I was powerless.”

Lightning rolled over Thor’s skin unbidden, a reaction to his rage at the memory.

The prince grabbed his wrist. “Teach me to do that.”

“I learned in rage and helplessness, I’m not sure—”

“We’re the same, and you have control over it. You know where the power is, and you can teach me. You know how strong we are as one, with the two of us, we can stop any evil that would threaten Asgard’s people.” The prince was so earnest, so willing.

Thor found his patience and his love for himself in those eyes. He nodded. “Alright, meet me in the training fields tomorrow.”

The prince grinned, and then it turned sharp. “You said Loki played a trick on you. We could play one back.”

Thor’s smile mirrored his younger self. “We could indeed.”

They clapped each other on the shoulder, and Thor left for his own apartments. The rooms were originally meant for visiting royalty, but were quickly turned into a permanent residence for an Asgardian king. He liked them, truly, mostly liked that he had the chance to change them and make them his own. The rooms overlooked the gardens, and he felt he had the best view in the entire palace.

Every morning he woke up and saw the sun through his curtains he grew more convinced that this wasn’t a simple dream or delusion born of grief.

Still, he longed to share it with his Loki. He wanted nothing more than to give his beloved brother the peace he felt more and more each day. He fell asleep with a phantom in his mind.

 

The birds sang to wake him, and Thor hauled himself out of bed to the training fields.

The Warriors Three were so enamored with him that he was able to forget his grief for a few minutes just regaling them with tales of his victories they’d never witnessed.

Loki was present, hovering around the edge of the field. He watched every move like a predator. Once his brother landed Loki picked a spot to sit and watch. He was high up in a nearby tree, his legs swinging over the edge of the branch.

Mjolnir was set aside, and the lesson began. Thor's hands never left his younger self. He touched all over his own stomach, his back, his shoulders, all while whispering where to find the power they carried within them.

They circled each other in the ring. Thor lashed out with lightning, striking and throwing the prince to the awe and amusement of their audience. It didn't take long before there was a strike back. He was impressed by himself, however vain that feeling was. The prince had been correct, the power was natural to them both so all Thor had to do was tell him where to find it.

They stood in front of each other, lightning rolling over their bodies, and smiled at each other. They removed their shirts and began to move. It was every bit a dance as it was a spar. Thor would move to the right and reach out with electricity, only to have his movements mirrored and the move blocked.

Either could only send passing glances to look at Loki where he sat leaning forward on his perch.

Then the dance ended and the spar picked up. Thor landed two good punches on the prince, who returned them with a swift kick that sent him back. Their energy was up and it was quickly calling a storm. They ran at each other and their punches landed easily on each other's jaws, but could barely connect before they were each blown backward by a lightning strike that hit them both.

Applause filled the arena, and when Thor looked up he saw Loki standing over him with a smile from the edge of the ring. He stood and faced Loki his hands on his hips. The prince ran over and stood beside him, chest heaving and hair slick with sweat.

Loki regarded them both in interest. “Well, surely now there can be no threat to Asgard that cannot be swiftly handled.”

Thor smiled. “Surely. Does it please you?”

Loki reached out and poked the prince’s chest. “It does. It's a wonderful game you two played. Perhaps the next time you play you should think to include me.”

Loki disappeared under his own power, glowing green and drifting to another place before either of them could respond.

The prince scoffed. “How did our trick become his?”

Thor chuckled and smacked his younger self on the back. “We're not a god of mischief.”

A crooked smile made the prince's eyes spark. “No, but we're a fertility god, and we could leave him limping.”

Thor laughed loudly and parted ways with his younger self.

 

It was barely a month after Thor arrived that Odin publicly announced his Odinsleep, and that the Thor who came back to avert disaster would sit on the throne until he woke. Both princes sat at his right side when Odin relinquished the throne to him.

The building of Hela's new prison was well underway and would likely be finished by the time Odin woke. All else that needed done was for Heimdall to keep his watch to track Thanos. Nothing would likely happen for years, but Thor wanted a constant vigil.

The people took to him easily, and he barely kept tears at bay as he thought on the differences been this and his first ascension.

After several merry and painfully formal hours the ceremony was over and Thor felt a weight on his shoulders that he actually didn't much mind. At least this time he was asked before he had to become king.

Loki had asked for his presence to share a private dinner in his rooms, as no feast had been had in respect for Odin’s state. The patience Loki had commended Thor on was quickly slipping. He would have his brother tonight.

Thor didn't knock when he reached Loki's doors. They opened for him without trouble and locked behind him. He walked directly past the sitting area with untouched food and went into Loki's bed chamber.

He stopped for a moment, Loki looked like something had frightened him. “Are you alright?”

Loki quickly dropped the troubled expression in favor of a smile. “I am, I was just surprised by a spell.”

Thor hummed and stepped close to grab Loki by the hips. “Must be some spell.”

“More than you could imagine.” Loki whispered.

Thor chuckled. “I'm sure. Before we dine, there's something I’d like to discuss.”

“What would my king like to talk about?” Loki slid his hands up to cup Thor's jaw.

Thor closed his eyes and sighed at the touch. “I'm thinking of naming an advisor.”

“That's a rather important position. Would you like my opinion?” Loki pressed himself along the front of Thor's body, the length of him fitting perfectly.

Thor tightened his grip on Loki's hips and turned him, pushing him against the wall. “Actually, I want you.”

Loki's eyes widened. “Do you mean?”

Thor nodded and made quick work of the laces on Loki's trousers, grabbing his half hard cock and pulling it free. “I want to name you as my advisor. You're certainly cunning enough for it, and you know more about diplomacy than I do.”

Loki became harder and harder in his hand, throbbing with his racing pulse. “You'd give me that much power?”

“Yes,” Thor said, “I'd have you to whisper in my ear. I know you never wanted the crown and the attention from it, but I would have you as my equal.”

Thor kept his grip light on Loki's cock, his fingers dry and moving quickly. Loki wasn't hiding from him, he didn't try to downplay the effect of Thor's words. He simply moaned and gave stilted thrusts into the circle of Thor's fingers.

Thor bit Loki's earlobe and whispered softly, “perhaps you could shift into your snake form and wrap yourself around my neck.”

Loki groaned and made a movement with his fingers that slicked his cock on the next pass of Thor's hand. “Am I permitted to spit venom if someone is particularly stupid?”

Thor laughed and made his grip tighter. “Just promise not to hit their eyes.”

Loki gasped and gripped Thor’s arms tightly, cock throbbing and jumping in Thor’s grip. “You're a very dangerous king already.”

Thor kissed the corner of Loki's jaw. “You knew that. You said yourself I'm more dangerous than the brother you know.”

Loki shuddered against him. “I didn't know how right I was.”

Thor hummed and kissed Loki's neck, lips gentle against his cool skin. That was all the more Loki could withstand. He gasped and come dripped down Thor's knuckles. Loki sagged against him, his grip on Thor bruising as he kept himself quiet though his release.

They stayed like that for a moment, then Thor lifted his hand up and cleaned it of Loki's spend with a greedy tongue. Loki's eyes went wide and with a few quick strokes of his fingers they were both naked.

Thor laughed as Loki shoved him on the bed, using his godly strength to his full advantage. He jumped onto Thor and moved to position himself over Thor's cock. Neither bothered to correct their position, they ended up laying sideways.

“I'm done waiting.” Loki made a movement Thor recognized easily as his favorite preparation spell.

Thor grabbed Loki and rolled them over. “Good, so am I. Are you ready?”

Loki nodded and Thor didn't waste time in sinking his cock into Loki's tight hole. They came together as easily as he remembered, and Thor groaned as pleasure set his system alight. Sparks flew from his body and hit Loki, forcing startled moans from his lips.

Thor rested his forehead against his brother's and set a slow pace to start so Loki could feel every inch dragging in and out of him. Taking him now was as sweet as the first time, but even better because Thor had both of his homes again. He had Loki and he had Asgard.

Loki rubbed over his shoulders and back, reaching down to Thor's ass to pull him in harder. Thor obliged easily, snapping his hips in a rough movement that forced Loki to yell beneath him, any restraint from before abandoned. That was fine with Thor, he found he didn't care the way he used to. He'd had enough of hesitation and self control.

“You came back for me, didn't you?” Loki's voice was mostly breath, thin and pleasure slack.

Thor nodded, not trusting whatever words he could produce when he was getting everything he'd ever wanted.

Instead he reached down and grabbed one of Loki's legs and pulled it higher up his side. The new angle was better and both of them moaned with it.

Loki grabbed the back of his neck and pulled him into a desperate kiss, sucking his tongue and biting his lips. They moved in unison to create a rhythm that made Thor's blood sing. Lightning rolled freely over his skin and Loki shouted and clung so tightly to him when it hit him. Thor moaned into the kiss and found a vicious pleasure in how responsive Loki was.

His cock was already hard again between them, and Thor spared a thought to focus his power there. Rings of electricity slid down Loki's cock and Thor had no warning before Loki was tearing his skin open and sobbing through his second orgasm. Heat spread across Thor's skin as fire at the feeling of blood welling up on his back.

His rhythm faltered at feeling his brother tighten around him until it was nearly painful. He snapped his hips forward so hard the bed frame screeched on the floor, then again, then one last time to bury himself to the root and spill in Loki's body.

He buried his face in Loki's neck and shook with the force of his orgasm, moans a trembling chant of Loki's name.

Loki soothed his back but didn't heal it, stroking his skin idly.

Then his fingers stopped and he pushed Thor up until they were looking into each other's eyes. “I followed you here.”

Thor brows furrowed and made to ask what Loki meant, then his heart stopped and his blood froze in his veins. Tears blurred his vision. He hadn’t dared hope. “Loki don't jest—”

“I'm not. That was the spell that startled me before you came in. He was here. He's here now.” Loki cupped his jaw and didn't flinch as Thor's tears landed on his cheeks. “He went to visit you right as you came to me. He should still be there.”

Thor pulled out of Loki gently and stood, extending his hand. Loki followed him with a soft smile.

“Take us there.” Thor took a breath to steady himself as the world shifted.

 

Death was boring. That was the opinion Loki settled on after three days of wandering whichever not-Valhalla realm he'd ended up in. The Norns saw fit for him not to rest, but nothing else.

He walked aimlessly, the landscape grey and colorless, his magic out of reach. There was no path to follow, no difference anywhere he looked. It was just endless rock formations whose shapes changed every time he looked at them. This world seemed to turn with him when he moved. He only knew time passed because the starless skies grew dark then light with regularity. The time that passed in those intervals felt at least five times longer than Asgard’s solar cycle, but he would take what he could get here. Survival was his specialty.

The memories of his death were fresh, the way he’d tried to cling to his body as his spirit slipped away. He couldn’t get the taste of bile out of the back of his throat. Panic still threatened his system from the memories of Thor weeping over his corpse.

On what he thought was the fifth day, just after another sunless dawn, there was finally a change. An explosion split the sky ahead and a deafening screech filled the air. Loki fell to his knees with his hands on his ears. He cursed and cast a protective spell on reflex before he could remind himself not to.

It worked.

Loki gasped and felt the tiniest strings of seiðr wrapping around his fingers. He looked toward the expanding light and ran as quickly as he could.

His body did not tire here, so it only took a day to reach the site. Again he fell to his knees, but this time it wasn't pain that took him down, but hope.

The path of the bifrost roared in front of him and he stared in awe. Realization struck him when he saw lightning wrapped around the width of it. Thor.

Loki reached out with his magic and felt himself getting stronger as he touched it. There was no doubt Thor had carved this route. As Loki followed it and spied on it he froze. Thor wasn’t going somewhere. He was ripping a hole into the universe, going through time itself. Loki peered down the bifrost and shook his head.

“Thor why there? That won't save your friends.” Loki saw the divergent timelines and almost laughed when he realized the moment Thor chose.

“Such a fool, brother. You couldn't even close the path properly. What ever would you do without me?” Loki smiled and threw himself into the flow of the bifrost.

He landed in the great hall so late into the night that the guard rotations were nearly twenty minutes apart. No one was around and he quickly drew upon his renewed seiðr to cover himself from all sight. Closing the open path was simple, and he didn't care if Thor had ever planned to leave here and go back. Now they were well and truly stuck in this timeline.

Loki spent years here as a false king, but that didn’t lessen what he knew to be a miracle. Standing as he was after watching this planet die. He who had made the death possible.

Loki took a moment and just looked at everything. Things were different than he last saw them, nothing changed from his childhood. His parents were still alive, even. Somewhere off in the tower probably asleep peacefully.

He created a small portal and whisked himself away to the rainbow bridge. This bridge had never been broken. This bridge hadn't suffered his pain as he lashed out and forced Thor to destroy it.

Loki walked into the observatory and found Heimdall standing vigil as he always did.

“So you made it.” Heimdall didn't face him or even look. “You're the only who can make a blind spot in my vision, and your current self is in his room awaiting your brother. The king.”

Loki dropped his spell and regarded Heimdall. “King?”

“Odin sleeps. If you want to have words over events in your own timeline you'll have to wait. Though Thor has had plenty of words for the both of you.” Heimdall looked at him then, and Loki felt unsettled by the gaze.

He gave a sharp smile. “I have time. I closed the passage,” he tilted his head and took a small step toward Heimdall, “why didn't you? You could tell it was still open, surely, gaping wide enough that any idiot could trip into our borders.”

Heimdall raised an eyebrow at him. “I was waiting for the idiot to trip.”

Loki's eyes widened and he crossed his arms. “This is why I exiled you when I ruled Asgard.”

Heimdall turned back to the stars. “Good luck with that with your brother on the throne.”

Loki rolled his eyes and began walking away. “Yes, yes we all know Thor loves you. You could commit high treason and still keep your job for the next seventeen centuries!”

Heimdall actually laughed at that and Loki tamped down the sentimental warmth he felt for the sound. To Hel with the gatekeeper.

It was hard not to feel like his head was swimming with his magic. His portals were called so easily he wanted to label it trivial. He found his younger self alone and allowed a passing moment to indulge in nostalgia for his old room before revealing himself.

At this point in his own timeline, Thanos was having him taken apart piece by piece. This version of himself was saved from that.

“He came back for you, you know. For me.” Loki ran his fingers over the silk curtains framing his bed.

The younger prince turned sharply from a table set with food. Loki's stomach growled, so he went forward and plucked a several grapes and ate them quickly. Thor was on his way, so Loki wouldn't linger.

“I thought you were dead.” He heard himself say, voice still soft where Loki's vocal chords were scarred from screaming.

He smiled. “I found it disagreeable. That and Thor ripped a hole into the universe. We're lucky I'm all that came through.”

Loki swallowed harshly against the thought that Thanos could have found the portal.

His younger self regarded him warily, his eyes narrowed. Ah, resentment.

“I saw his memories.” Loki watched himself eat more grapes, and again his stomach growled.

“Would you like to see mine?” Loki wasn't sure it was a good idea, it might worsen the anger this version of him held, but he never let common sense keep him from doing anything. He and Thor were brothers, after all.

They watched each other for a moment, then each laid a hand on each other and the spell began. Loki saw a timeline he felt immense envy over. Thor revealing the truth about his heritage, Thor with the patience and understanding Loki had craved for centuries. Feeling like he could belong to Thor, knowing Thor wanted him back, feeling valued. The love was something he so needed and he ached at seeing it second hand, even though he’d had it. Could still.

The spell broke off and his younger self was gripping his throat.

“Different on this side, isn't it?” Loki asked.

The other prince walked away, taking deep breaths as he headed for his bed. Loki followed closely. When their eyes met again, Loki didn't see the anger from before.

“So,” the young prince started, “that's why you said he came back for me.”

“Yes. Hindsight is always seen in perfect clarity.” Loki circled his younger self, startled at how much could change in a decade. A trivial amount of time, really.

“He’ll be happy to see you. You saw how he wept.” It wasn’t necessarily displeasure in the young prince’s voice, but more that he seemed resigned to not having Thor tonight.

Loki smiled and touched the low curve of the prince’s back. “Not quite yet. I’m not so selfish that I would keep you from the best fuck of your life. Besides, there are two of them here, if memory serves.”

They looked at each other, and Loki pressed the memory of his preparation spell into the prince’s mind.

He pressed his lips flush to the younger’s ear, “use the spell I gave you, I doubt he’ll have much patience tonight if he hasn’t had you yet.”

With that, Loki stepped through reality and into Thor’s bedroom. Thor was turned away, standing and reading at the same time. An odd habit that made Loki’s chest ache in fondness.

It was only a moment, a breath, before Thor turned and looked at him. He closed the book and set it on a shelf without looking. Loki smiled and knocked it off with a flick of his finger. Thor sighed and rolled his eyes, picking up and putting it away properly.

“Well, you’re you.” Thor said, then his brows drew together as he took slow steps into Loki’s personal space. “He said you were dead.”

“He’s really going to have to stop telling people that. It’s going to get awkward.” Loki summoned an apple into his hand and took a bite, letting juice dribble down his chin as he did.

Thor watched the juice and chased the drop with his finger, then licked it clean. Well. Things were quite different, after all.

Loki swallowed his bite of apple and let Thor take the fruit from him.

Thor looked at him through his eyelashes, and he was as golden and glorious as Loki could ever remember him being. “I’ve always wondered something.”

Loki found his voice was thin when he spoke. “What’s that?”

Thor smiled and kissed him, his lips gentle in every way he shouldn’t have been. Soft enough that it was Loki who pressed deeper to feel more of him. This was the Thor he never had, and he wanted nothing more than to take him now.

Loki snapped his fingers and the apple disappeared from Thor’s hand, which immediately found his waist and began guiding him back to the bed. He let Thor undress them, half ripping of fabric and half popping buttons, their clothes were scraps by the time they were naked. Another time he’d let Thor take him slowly, but he didn’t want to be halfway into the act when his brother showed up to collect him.

Thor noticed the movement of his fingers. “What’s that spell?”

Loki smiled and guided Thor’s hand to his ass to press those wonderfully thick fingers against his hole. They went in easily, and as Thor moaned from his lighting rolled his over shoulder.

Loki shuddered at the sight. “This is going to be better than I thought. Come on, I can’t wait.”

Thor chased him up the bed, hovering over him and kissing his chest as he pushed in. The slide of him was perfect, so thick that the spell only just stretched Loki enough. It was an addictive fullness decadent in a way he could never recreate with all the magic in the universe at his fingertips.

Being lost in that empty realm was more than worth it to have this golden, beautiful Thor above him. It was everything he’d craved and needed to fulfill him before his heart turned to bitterness and his life began to fall apart.

Thor kissed his neck and he eagerly exposed more of it. He was too desperate to have a different feeling erase the memory of what was done to him. Low in his gut that familiar heat was building. His body rejoiced at being used like this.

Loki surrendered himself to the pace of Thor’s thrusts, content to hold on and feel Thor’s power washing over him. Static filled the air and electricity snapped between them. It was making him delirious and he knew he wasn’t going to last, not like this. Not with Thor surrounding him, washing away everything he’d ever done wrong in an attempt to find who he was.

It was too easy to give in when Thor grabbed his cock, lightning dancing across his skin that took him apart. Loki relaxed into it and moaned loudly as his cock throbbed and come landed on his stomach.

Thor kissed him, hips snapping up faster and faster. Loki locked his ankles together behind Thor’s back and kept him close. He felt as Thor was harder and harder inside him with every thrust, arms and stomach shaking.

The kiss broke, and Thor rested his forehead against Loki’s, his voice was wrecked. “Oh, Loki, fuck!”

Loki grinned as Thor stilled inside him and came with a broken groan. He was so perfect like this that Loki had to force down the wave of emotion threatening to overtake him.

Thor rolled off of him and pulled him close, not bothering to avoid the come cooling on Loki’s skin. They took a moment for themselves to just be. Then there were four of them in the room.

Loki looked up and saw Thor, his Thor, with the short hair and, “where’s your eye patch?”

Thor reached out and grabbed him by the ankles, hauling him off the bed with force. Before he could complain Thor grabbed him and gathered him into a tight embrace. He let himself be held, content and safe in it, and wrapped his arms around Thor’s shoulders.

“How?” Thor asked, his voice watery.

Loki couldn’t hold his tears in at hearing that. “I fought to stay with my body, I was trying to bring myself back, but then the ship exploded and I was lost. I ended up in an empty realm, and then I found the bifrost you opened. You know it didn’t get closed until I arrived? What were you thinking?”

Thor shook his head. “I just couldn’t stay there, I wasn’t thinking.”

Loki sobbed and buried his face in Thor’s neck. “What did I tell you, brother?”

Thor took a deep, shuddering breath, and nodded against him. “You’re never touching the fucking Tesseract, do you hear me?”

Loki laughed. “That’s fine, that’s perfectly fine.”

It took minutes for them to separate, and when they did they found themselves watched by the younger princes who were cuddled very comfortably in Thor’s bed.

Loki hummed at the sight. “Well, that’s an idea. What room are you in, Majesty?”

Thor smiled and rubbed his back. “The room for foreign royalty overlooking the gardens.”

Loki swept them away easily, depositing them neatly in the bed. Thor continued rubbing his back and sides as they lay together. It seemed half as though Thor was petting him and half like he was reassuring himself of Loki’s existence.

“So,” Loki started, “you left your friends?”

Thor sighed. “Tony took the gauntlet from Thanos and undid everything that happened. Except for everything Thanos did before he snapped his fingers,” Thor made an empty gesture against Loki’s skin with his fingers, “I felt like I was left with nothing, so I left. They won, they don’t need me anymore.”

Loki turned and regarded Thor, the exhaustion in his brow and the frown on his lips. “How very pragmatic of you. I’m proud.”

Thor gave an easy smile. “Heimdall said I finally learned something from you.”

“Well it only took twelve hundred years and for me to be presumed dead three times. I’d hoped you’d get it sooner or later.” Loki rolled over onto his back and stretched.

Thor scoffed. “You are the…”

He stopped halfway, and Loki reached out to cup his jaw with one hand. Thor covered it and pressed a kiss to his skin.

“I’m the reason you came here.” Loki said.

Thor only nodded, his eyes slipping shut. “I wanted to undo my every failure.”

“Yes, and you were quite dramatic from what I saw.” Loki rubbed Thor's cheekbone with his thumb. “Staring down father like that. It’s impressive.”

Thor smiled and pressed a kiss to his palm. “I'm to start ruling tomorrow. You should know I’m naming you my advisor.”

“Which me?” Loki asked.

“Both, either. I’m sure we’ll figure it out.” Thor leaned in and kissed him, and Loki let himself feel the warmth of home for the first time in too long.

 

The war still came, the Earth still needed to be saved, but mercifully it was altogether different from before. The forge of Niðavellir was still attacked, but all of Asgard and her allies were ready when the time came.

The gauntlet remained a nightmare of another time. Never completed.

This time, Thor went for the head.

 

**Author's Note:**

> so this ran right away from me lol i had no idea it would end up this long, and i'm really happy with it. self-edited so any mistakes are mine at this point.


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